Angela Lee and Frankie Becker enjoy dipping strawberries into the ’Flaming Turtle Chocolate Fondue“ at The Melting Pot. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

As a person who looks forward to dinner all day, and eats just small bites here and there to save my appetite and calories for the main meal, I was ambivalent about going out for a fondue dinner. I’m a big eater and isn’t fondue just a series of small bites?

The Melting Pot is a Florida-based company that has been around since 1975. Its newest franchise unit opened last month in “restaurant row” at the Hyatt Aventine by University Towne Centre. The Melting Pot took the space next door to Fleming’s, a space with a history of short-run tenants, including Pasquale and, most recently, 808 Restaurant.

Some restaurateurs say the space is cursed. Well, I guess we’ll see, since the highly successful Melting Pot has more than 100 restaurants nationwide, with plans to open several more this year.

The petite space was completely gutted and beautifully remodeled. An area that was once office space is now an upstairs dining room. This is a good sign that these folks know what they’re doing; the additional seating was a smart move. Rents at the Aventine are astronomical and the revenue will come in handy.

The fondues are made tableside by your server, who caters to your personal preferences.

All “Cheese Fondue” selections are served for one or two people, and you have several choices. The “Cheddar Cheese Fondue,” which combines sharp cheddar with Emmenthaler, beer and fresh garlic, and the “Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue” are probably the most familiar. The “Fiesta Cheese Fondue” is a zippy combination of cheddar, salsa and jalapeños. (Here’s a hint for gringos: the jalapeños are intensely hot and should be added sparingly.)

The “Wisconsin Trio” combines fontina, Butterkäse (a creamy, mild German cheese) and bleu, and is finished with a splash of sherry.

Once your order is placed, your server turns up the heat on your fondue pot and within moments it’s steaming hot.

We selected the “Spinach and Artichoke Fondue” as our first course. Our server stirred a combination of vegetable stock, fresh garlic, artichokes, spinach and Swiss and Parmesan cheese until smooth. It was finished with a couple of hits of Tabasco. All cheese courses are served with assorted breads, chips and vegetables for dipping.

Spearing the bread and crudités with those long fondue forks and dipping away was a lot of fun and the dip was delicious. A word of caution, though: not a person in our party left without a burned tongue. The dips get hotter as you near the bottom of the pot, so be careful.

Between the appetizer and entrée fondue courses, you have your choice of salads: mushrooms with mixed greens, mixed greens with tomatoes, walnuts and gorgonzola, and a chef’s salad.

When it’s time to order entrées you first select your cooking style. Choose from “Coq au Vin,” comprised of herbs, mushrooms, garlic and Burgundy wine; “Mojo,” seasoned with Caribbean spices; “Court Bouillon,” a vegetable broth; or “Bourguignonne” style, where food is dipped in batter and cooked in canola oil.

We tried two styles, the Coq au Vin and the Bourguignonne. We were brought platters with raw shrimp, scallops, lobster and salmon, as well as marinated beef, chicken and an array of vegetables. The server instructed us that meats take about two minutes to cook and vegetables take about a minute and a half and then we were on our own.

Here’s where it started to get a bit dicey. I found that both the meats and the vegetables took a lot longer than the designated time to cook and that the seafood took a lot less. And I wound up doing all the cooking at my table because I knew from kitchen experience when things were done by looking and prodding. Although I thought it was fun and for the most part tasty, it did feel like work to me. At times, it was a challenge to follow the conversation because I was so busy checking on my morsels.

Just when I was getting a little worn out, the dessert course brought me back around because, like the cheese course, nothing had to be actually cooked. You just dip fruits and cookies, marshmallows and cheesecake into a warm pot of chocolate combined with flavorings of your choosing like peanut butter, Bailey’s Irish cream or crumbled Oreo cookies. A delicious and decadent dessert delicacy it was.

Prices vary, depending on how you order (individually or “for two”), but three courses not including drinks for two runs a very reasonable $75.

Although I was skeptical that I would get enough food to fill my belly, I was completely sated when I left three hours later. It was a fun (our 2-year-old totally loved all the bread, crackers and veggies), memorable dining experience, burned tongue and all.

— Terryl Gavre